Fifty Shades of Grey movie taps Sam Taylor-Johnson to direct

Director Sam Taylor-Johnson, seen with her actor husband Aaron Taylor-Johnson at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, has been enlisted to helm the Fifty Shades of Grey movie adaptation. (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Taylor-Johnson, whose only previous feature was the 2009 John Lennon biopic Nowhere Boy, promised she would "honour the power" of the book, which has sold millions of copies and spawned countless imitators.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Universal Pictures and Focus Features. Producer Michael De Luca said Taylor-Johnson's "unique ability to gracefully showcase complex relationships dealing with love, emotion and sexual chemistry make her the ideal director" for the story of the S&M-tinged romance between a young student and an enigmatic billionaire.

Fifty Shades author E.L. James tweeted that she was "delighted and thrilled" by the choice.

The 46-year-old director, previously known as Sam Taylor-Wood, is one of Britain's best-known visual artists. Her works include a video portrait of David Beckham sleeping that hangs in London's National Portrait Gallery. She also made Crying Men, a compilation of Hollywood actors in tears.